Archive for category What is Stress?

Eustress is the positive form of stress, it is the type of stress that brings our body to the next level of endurance and performance. It is interesting to note the effects on the body and to understand why eustress exists. It releases hormones into the body that propels us into action. It is important to note that is has a mental effect as well. Eustress is usually related to enjoyable events in ones life. This is the major factor that separates it from distress (negative stress). It is applied when it is needed and the mind determines that. The stress response of eustress is different for this very reason. For example eustress supports us when we meet new challenges, have large family gatherings we need to prepare for, marriage, and having sex. We will focus on the physical form of eustress.

Eustress helps with strength and endurance

Eustress helps us win races, it helps us weight train, it helps us with endurance training. As said above it release hormones and chemicals in the body which jump start us into action. It also maintains these levels in a healthy balance. Distress on the other hand spikes these chemicals and hormones to a much higher level that is harmful to the body. Distress also, over time, can lead to deviating health conditions. It will lead to deadly conditions in many ways and make us much more susceptible to many viruses.

Hans Selye was a great stress scientist

Eustress is a term coined by Hans Selye in 1975. He is one of the most famous and respected scientists in the field of stress. He said that the body adapts to this stress, by choice, and lets it work for us in a sustainable and efficient way. Our body is a fine tuned, balanced, and a beautiful masterpiece of nature. Stress is there to help us in times of need as are many other biological functions. Pay attention to your body and how it feels. Try to not over exert yourself and focus on maintaining balance. Interval training is a popular method among athletes to improve endurance and strength. It isn’t the best for our bodies and make sure you don’t push yourself to hard. Stretching before and after this training and following a healthy diet will help much to this end.

Stress and anxiety sometimes go hand in hand. One can initiate the other and intensify the affects of each. Stress is a biological response to an external stimuli or event (dubbed a stressor). Anxiety is also a response to a stressor but it reacts in a different manner. It is a psychological and psychological response to that stress in a manner that affects us emotionally, behaviorally, and mentally. It also has a physical affect on our somatic nervous system and cardiovascular system. It can also come about without a stressor being presenting.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety often brings feelings of uneasiness, fear, and concern. The feelings of fear are different from fear in that they are triggered by anxiety whereas fear is typically a response to a perceived threat. When we are in a situation we feel that is uncontrollable or unavoidable we often get those feelings of stress and anxiety.

Anxiety is intended to help us

It is good to realize that anxiety is a mood which is being used to prepare ourselves to cope with negative events. So in essence it is a state that is there to help us. In excess it is a state that can really dampen our lives and hamper our personal growth in life. If it continues to be in excess it is a condition doctors refer to as an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is a blanket term for both persistent or excessively reoccurring fear and anxiety. Some studies have shown 15-20% of Americans suffer from this disorder. This is a quite large amount of people but there is plenty of hope for defeating this self-defeating disorder.

Coping with stress and anxiety

Dealing with stress and anxiety takes time and effort. It can be a bit paradoxical when our stress and anxiety takes from us motivation and focus to work on these issues. However, much can be done for anxiety relief and if you are taking steps forward, big or small, you will always end at your goal. To do this we should work on any feelings of self-doubt and low self-confidence. Working on the self in individual sections will have affect on many other portions of yourself. It is an upward spiral in which improving one aspect improves other related or seemingly unrelated aspects (whether or not you connect the two). The first step is accepting the idea of change so we can get healthy levels of stress and anxiety. There are many articles here and around the internet to help you to get anxiety relief!

Most of us struggle with stress on a far to often basis. In fact the American Institute of Stress believes about 50% of adults suffer from chronic stress and 75% or more report stress being a problematic issue in their life. These numbers are staggering and they are trending upwards. The negative affects of stress can be emotional, mental, and physical. Most individuals in this field would agree the physical affects of stress are by far the biggest concern. Physical signs of stress are extremely wide and varied; they can be nagging health issues, chronic conditions, and go as far as life debilitating or life ending. We in no way want to scare you as motivation to start coping with stress more, it is just a fact of chronic stress. Fear based motivation is never a good choice. Coping with stress takes patience and effort but it is a skill that can be accomplished by all.

How some are coping with stress

There is unfortunately many poor methods of coping with stress. Some that seem to work and others that are just plain self-destructive. Drinking and doing drugs is the most common. Although many would agree a couple drinks when while under stress can be helpful. This should be in combination with other methods as well finding stress reducers. Overdoing drugs and alcohol will not only lead to health issues but can really stunt and reverse true progress in coping with stress and with stress management. Other poor methods range from disconnecting from the world to self-deprecation to physical, mental, or emotional abuse towards another.

How we should be coping with stress

We should take the time to reflect and write down what we feel causes us stress. Really look at the list and think about why these things cause you stress. Are there things you can avoid? Are there things that shouldn’t be stressful? Analyzing what brings us stress is also very important. Techniques for coping with stress are wide and varied; each will work differently from person to person. When coping with stress we should look at what kind of stress it is. Is it chronic or acute? Are you in the moment of it or has it already happened? Is it mixed with other emotions and events? Deep breathing, mediation, accepting what you cannot change, self-respect, proper sleeping, a good diet, and talking with others are all great methods of coping with stress or preventing stress from arising. Feel free to browse around to find more ways for coping with stress and stress prevention techniques.

Stress manifests itself in many ways varying from person to person, type of stress, and if it’s acute or chronic stress. Dealing with stress is something we should put a great deal of thought and energy into. Many health conditions are connected to stress and people looking to help health problems they may have are caused by stress. We need to treat the stress in addition to the health complications that it has caused. Many of these health problems can be turned around if you take down the root problem, being stress. The following are signs of stress and health conditions caused by acute and chronic stress. Although it is important to keep in mind that not all of these are manifesting due to stress; many other things can be the source. It is important to check with your doctor if you have these issues.

The Signs of stress

Anxiety

Low self-esteem

Withdrawal

Erectile dysfunction

Male infertility

Irritability

Insomnia

Alcohol abuse

Asthma

High blood pressure

Fatigue

Chronic fatigue

Fibromyalgia

Headaches

Rheumatoid arthritis

Immune system dysfunction

Stomach problems

Indigestion

Peptic Ulcers

IBS

Mood disorders

Skin disease

Sweating

Racing heart

Rapid breathing

Shortness of breath

Teeth grinding

Health problems caused by stress are countless

Stress creates a breading ground for health issues. Many researches are pointing to even more serious health problems such as cancer, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, metabolic and endocrine disease. Most every organ in the body is affected by the stress response. Most of the acute physical affects are caused by the release of hormones from the adrenal glands. Cortisol, adrenaline, adrenocorhropic hormones, cortisone, and an immune system protein interleukin-6. These are all normal hormones that the body uses but when they are released too often dozens of problems arise.

Dealing with stress

As you can see there are a plethora of health issues arising as signs of stress. It is vital that we think critically about what we are doing to our bodies, our minds, and our emotions when we get carried away in stress. There is no reason to be chronically stressed and finding answers to questions of stress should be a top priority. Dealing with stress is no easy task but it is one if we choose to undertake can be accomplished by all. Be good to yourself!

Mental stress clouds our mind and our judgment. It takes away from us good decision making skills and hinders our ability to think properly. Stress is a response from the more primitive parts of our mind. It is the fight or flight response that sends our mind into a focused chaos. All non-critical functions of the body cease as you prepare yourself to avoid a dangerous situation. This is how it is used in the wild; however we are creatures of an urbanized society. The point of stress is rarely made in our everyday life. Instead we feel the repercussions of the stress response as opposed to utilizing its benefits.

Setting goals

There are individuals in the world with extensive practice of meditation. They eventually reach a point where they can control the involuntary actions of the body. Hiccups, sneezing, even the dilation of the pupils are under their will power. More importantly the fight or flight response becomes a choice. This is quite a feat to accomplish and it is not one we can expect to accomplish without a great deal of practice. Let us aim at a more achievable goal.

Lowering the fight or flight response

Lowering the fight or flight response is something we can all do to overcome mental stress. It takes practice and the reprogramming our subconscious. Tell yourself periodically that your fight or flight response is in your control. Let yourself know that your response to non-dangerous stress isn’t one of fight or flight. To get better control of the primitive parts of the mind we must utilize the subconscious. It directly communicates with it as well as the whole body. It listens to what we say and it does its best to follow your orders at all times. This is not some pseudo-science, these are clinically proven methods of re-patterning of how you think and behave.

Gain control of your mind

To overcome mental stress we must gain control of the mind. We must adapt new techniques for handling old situations. Focusing and directing the mind in positive and constructive way will always be your choice. We can choose to improve ourselves for our benefit and for the loved ones around us. It is up to you and it always will be.

We grow up with stress and accept it as a part of our lives. This leads many of us to not question it and accept it as it is. If we look at its source, triggers, reason for existing we can begin to understand how to mold stress for our benefit.

Stress is a biological response triggered when a stressful stimulus is presented. This stimulus can come in many forms. It is highly individual and it is not static. We can positively change our response to most stress stimulus (stressors). It takes focus and putting knowledge about stress into action with stress reduction techniques. It will take personal discipline and self-respect. Stress is straight forward in many cases and understanding how and why it works will be a key to taking control.
We need to look at our personal stressors and why they cause us stress. Identifying them is the first step to taking control of them. We then must ask ourselves why they cause us stress. Is this stress worth our personal turmoil? If you feel it is worth it can we lower the response? Can we find a place of calm and patience while faced with this stress? If not, what can we do to take steps to lower the stress?

There are many important question that often we do not ask ourselves because we have been accepting the conditions as they are. We have been coping with any variety of methods and allowed this level of stress tolerance stress level and to be OK. In most cases this level of tolerance for stress is excessively high. We are better copers than we are empowered individuals. Anyone can choose to take the higher road and relax in the face of stress. To do this though we must focus and practice. Calming down in the moment not only relaxes us but it frees our mind to do more stress reduction techniques while in the face of it.

Most countries around the world suffer from obesity. It is the number one cause of death. Obesity will lead to the debilitating affects from a stroke or surgery. Child obesity rates are soaring, leading to not only an unhealthy childhood but a building a pattern in life that will likely follow them like a fat shadow into adulthood. What can we do today to help ourselves and the ones we love get healthy and happy?

We are creatures of the wild, long forgotten food foragers exploring nature for it’s fruitful bounty. Today we roam the grocery isles and hunt for the fast food bargains. We are divorced from nature and it’s systems of balance. We have at our fingertips any variety of food from innumerable sources. It can be ready made or it can be slow cooked. We take for granted what a great thing this is and we take for granted how much our bodies can adapt to change.

Most children don’t have much deep seated stress. As we age stress becomes a very real and long term issue. A way of coping with it is by stress eating. Short term it isn’t that bad of a thing. As long as other steps are taking to alleviate and remove stress stress eating that is rarely used it can be a OK way to relieve stress. Unfortunately there are those who have this as a long term addiction and the health problems become a very real issue.

Stress eating can be a very serious problem for many people. It is a very easily accessible addiction and depending on income, a very affordable addiction. It is one of those problems people sweep under the rug. It is an issue that has little short term affects and extreme long term affects. In the short term it will cause a little damage to the body. Long term it will cause extensive and life threatening damage. As with most addictions the danger trouts ever closer to striking us down with its vengeance. It often remains under a veil, only ready to show it’s power when we come to close.

To overcome addiction we must first recognize and accept that we have an addiction. We must look at ourselves with truth and accept who we see. We must look we we are headed and change that direction one day and one step at a time. In the end you have the power to do this and it is your choice whether or not you will.

When we consider the importance of time management a lot comes to mind. The obvious and the more subtle of ideas should be thought of. You can get more accomplished each and everyday and over a lifetime you will have had a much greater impact on the world; building a better future for your children, grandchildren, and generations to come. You can have more time to do the things you want to do. Others can depend on you more and you can move up in the business world. The importance of time management is something we must consider, and the sooner the better.

In most peoples lives much more can be getting done and at the same time much more fun can be had, this is the importance of time management. First we must look at those time wasters that leak our life away. We must reflect on how we are spending our time and therefor life. It is something thought about far too little. It is something that with the right persistence we can make a great change in the world around us. Everyday we make a change for the better the next day is improved, and with this fact in mind the future is painted in a much more masterful way.

We all want our lives to be enhanced and to be more joyful. The importance of time management can be so easily illustrated to that end. Everyday we give ourselves X amount of time to do the Y activity we build up that pattern to do the activity and reap all of its benefits. Overtime the changes that this productive activity are easier to see. Maybe it’s a 20 minute jog, 30 minutes of yoga, an extra 10 minutes of cleaning, a couple hours on a side business/project. If the motivation is there and the idea’s are clearly pointing to the inevitable and realistic goal you will achieve it. The importance of time management is clear and with the right motivations and proper use it will indisputably bring you a better life.

There is a lot to be said when it comes to effective time management. There is always more we can do and there is the perfect point of effective time management but that shouldn’t be a goal and ultimately it is unhealthy. We can get a lot accomplished and not have to work overwork ourselves.

Effective time management is about looking for where you waste time and building new patterns that cut these out. It is about analyzing and scrutinizing how you spend your time. Getting a bigger picture of what is important and what isn’t. Not to say that having fun with friends and spending time with family is a waste, it isn’t at all. It’s looking more into not playing silly games, not watching an excess of TV’s or movies, not browsing your time away on the internet.

Effective time management is also about utilizing the time you have more efficiently. There are many things to look. Your time spent commuting, time at work, lunch breaks, sleep schedule, and much more can probably be used much more efficiently. Think about listening to books on tape when you commute alone. Figure out what is draining your productivity with an honest look at it. In some cases taking more relaxing breaks will increase your daily output. You may spend to many lunch breaks going out for food, think about bringing a lot more lunches to work so you can get more out of your break. Or consider trading off turns with co workers for getting take out food. Sleeping in a regular pattern will decrease your overall need for sleep.

There is plenty you can start doing today. Your biggest obstacle to this will be your focus. You need to focus on your overall goal and your daily/weekly/monthly goals. You need to focus and realizing when you are wasting time. You need to focus to keep a sharp mind and be more efficient. Effective time management takes time and energy. However the more you practice it the easier it becomes and soon it will be second nature; you will just do it without thinking twice about it. So practice effective time management and get more out of your life!

We often wonder if all the stress in our life is worth it. We want to know what we can do to be dealing with stress. Is what we are doing working or do we need to change gears or directions to be more effective in our stress management. There are all kinds of ways we are dealing with stress but not all work and some are even counter productive. To find what the best approach is for dealing with stress we need to see how well what we are doing is working and what we can change and add to this.

There are days that go by peacefully and just flow so well. There are days when it seems nothing can go right and everything is mounting against you. There is everything between and everything outside this spectrum. To effectively role with the punches and also enjoy those great days to the most we should look at our beliefs and our techniques we use when dealing with stress.

How to deal with stress

Start by jotting down what you are doing when you are dealing with stress. What are your coping techniques, do you use defense mechanisms, how much do you let it initially affect you. When you become defensive you can become very counter productive. You can harm yourself and others emotionally/mentally/physically when you react in this way. It’s not always a bad thing and if used constructively with thoughtfulness it is a very good thing. Try to judge the effectiveness of your coping skills and how you have programmed your mind to react to stress (your initial reaction). Overall just be mindful of what you do when your dealing with stress and what you could do to improve this. Also don’t let it stop there, you should be looking for ways to avoid stress and ways to not let it arise in the first place.

Take some time reading about new strategies for dealing with stress and trying to mix it up. You might be surprised at how powerful some of these stress management techniques and coping skills can be. It’s definitely worth your time.